What is Criminal Justice?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Criminal Justice is the application or study of laws regarding criminal behavior. Those who study criminal justice include the police, those working in a judiciary capacity and lawyers who either defend or prosecute those accused of a crime. Others work to advocate for changes in the current system of criminal justice, such as those who render decisions regarding current laws, like members of Supreme Courts.

Most of the top fields within the criminal justice realm will experience solid job growth from 2010 to 2020:

Private Detectives and Investigators: 21 percent job growth (faster than average compared to all occupations)

Paralegals and Legal Assistants: 18 percent job growth (approximately as fast as average compared to all occupations)

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists: 18 percent job growth (approximately as fast as average compared to all occupations)

Forensic Science Technicians: 19 percent job growth (approximately as fast as average compared to all occupations)

Court Reporters: 14 percent job growth (approximately as fast as average compared to all occupations)

Police and Detectives: 7 percent job growth (slower than average compared to all occupations)

Correctional Officers: 5 percent job growth (slower than average compared to all occupations)

This degree could also prepare one for an advanced academic degree from law school or criminal justice and social work graduate programs.

Job Search Engines

Criminal Justice Profiles has compiled a comprehensive directory of some of the most useful criminal justice and law enforcement job search resources to help make your job search experience more productive and enjoyable.

Federal Bureau of Investigation often has jobs available in many different locations. Joining the FBI is like no other career choice you have ever explored. It is challenging. It is exciting. It is rewarding. And every day you have a chance to serve your country.

Law Legal Jobs is the one and only place you need when searching from entry-level through management jobs. You will find the latest job search tools and resources to assist in your legal, law or criminal justice job search.

USAJOBS is a United States Office of Personnel Management website. USAJOBS is the Federal Government's official one-stop source for federal jobs and employment information.

TweetMyJobs is a revolutionary new job search and recruitment tool. As the leader in social recruiting, they’ll match you with relevant job openings or candidates and help you find jobs or employees faster than traditional methods.

World Newspapers - Magazines was started in 2002 as a provider of what is going on around the world; all in one place. World-Newspapers.com provides links to thousands of news sources covering every world's country and many of subjects that could be of relevance to the job searcher.

Research Resources

Criminal Justice Career Guide leads you to the information you need to make educated choices regarding your career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of police officers, detectives and corrections specialists is expected to grow by 11 percent, similar to the national average. This site informs you of the steps you need to take to find those jobs.

Criminal Justice Careers Now allows you to search for information about various subjects regarding criminal justice. You can search types of careers, fields of interest, industry terms or simply find helpful information that can help make your criminal justice résumé stand out.

Degree Story allows anyone with school or job experience to share things they've learned, observations they've made, or anything else they'd like to say about the degree they chose. For anyone researching degree options, they can easily look up different degrees and read stories from real people with those degrees about their school and job experiences.

Discover Criminal Justice includes career articles and interviews with criminal justice experts, professors, and recent graduates. The directory of accredited criminal justice programs was compiled by hand using data collected from the U.S. Department of Education and school administrators.

Federal Jobs by College Major - USAJobs has created a list to help you choose the right career field, we have prepared the following table that groups Federal jobs that are often filled by college graduates with appropriate academic majors.

The Law Engine is chock full of information. Whether you are searching for updated information on government agencies, looking for information about criminal justice or legal references - The Law Engine is a free site that can lead you in the right direction.

The United States Department of Justice enforces the law and defends the interests of the United States; ensures public safety against threats foreign and domestic; provides federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; seeks just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and ensures fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

TweetMyJobs is a revolutionary new job search and recruitment tool. As the leader in social recruiting, they’ll match you with relevant job openings or candidates and help you find jobs or employees faster than traditional methods.

World Newspapers - Magazines was started in 2002 as a provider of what is going on around the world; all in one place. World-Newspapers.com provides links to thousands of news sources covering every world's country and many of subjects that could be of relevance to the job searcher.

Salary Information

About.com Career Planning/Criminal Justice Careers is by far the largest network of hand-crafted expert content on the internet, providing 87 million monthly unique users outstanding intent-driven actionable information, covering nearly 1,000 topics and over 4 million articles.

Criminal Justice Profiles has compiled a comprehensive directory of some of the most useful criminal justice and law enforcement job search resources to help make your job search experience more productive and enjoyable. This link gives you complete salary information.

PayScale/Criminal Justice shows you what your favorite crime-fighting job pays with a list of the most popular careers for a criminal justice degree.

National/State Associations

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences is an international association established in 1963 to foster professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice. ACJS promotes criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis within the discipline of criminal justice for both educators and practitioners.

American Correctional Association is the oldest and largest correctional association in the world. ACA serves all disciplines within the corrections profession and is dedicated to excellence in every aspect of the field. ACA is your resource and the worldwide authority in corrections.

American Criminal Justice Association is a professional fraternity and is comprised of individuals employed in the criminal justice system or taking a course of study in criminal justice at an accredited college or university at the time the application is submitted.

National Criminal Justice Association represents state, tribal and local governments on crime prevention and crime control issues. Its members represent all facets of the criminal and juvenile justice community